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Fonterra units jump 21 percent on NZX

Units in the Fonterra Shareholders' Fund jumped 21 percent on their debut as investors clamoured to get more exposure to the dairy co-operative's earnings after a $525 million initial public offer.

The fund, which grants holders access to Fonterra's dividends but not voting rights, opened at $6.66, after the issue price was set at $5.50 after a bookbuild, the top end of the indicative range.

It climbed to $6.70 with some 3.9 million units changing hands in the first few minutes of trading.

Some 58 percent of the units were allocated to New Zealand retail and institutional investors and the class of investors known as Friends of Fonterra, which includes Australia's Bonlac.

The rest were sold to foreign institutions.

The change will substantially reduce the share redemption risk on Fonterra's own books, which has billowed to more than $700m in recent years, by giving farmers a venue to trade the shares among themselves.